Latest Micropoetry on Twitter - July 2-24

Junebugs
flutter and buzz
zapping themselves
against
the floodlight

silhouettes
of nearby trees
their branches
an endless
reaching

nature embraces coolness
after a swift rain
wet earth transforms smells
a soiled sensation in my nose
gentle wind tickles my skin

raggy
tall grass
epitomizes
upside down
bird feet

a rainbow left
its full spectrum
comet tail
dashing
between clouds

three quarter moon
is either shaped
from too much food
or is one quarter
pregnant

black sky
flashed
and busted its veins
summer monsoon
is coming

I wink
at the moon
and the moon
winks
at me back

the bullied moon
wears
a
swollen
black
eye

short petalled
yellow mums
jiggle under
the air-conditioner
they need full sunlight

scorching sun
fresh cut grass needs water
yellow mums need planting
I stay inside
it's too hot

newly planted
yellow mums
agree
with its new
planter home

on the side
of my shed
are purple flowers
too bad
they're on tall weeds

the weeds
are having a hey day
in my back yard
the grackles
don't mind

poor yellow mums
planted last week
choking heat
withered
them all

frail baby willow
half bare
the wind
blew away
part of its virtue

chubby sparrow
is playing
jungle bird
through
my tall grass

roasting sun
dries the grass
faster
than I
can water

New Tanka Poems

Siamese cat wanders
Searches for holes through the fence
To make an entrance
Smells the earth, limbs, grass and weeds
Tip of its tail waves and guides


Bold weed grows through rocks
Thick arms tipped with white flowers
Unknown water source
Thrives on sunshine, wind and air
And words of condemnation


Dryness makes static
Comb dry fingers through my hair
Frankenstein frizzies
Branching out, electrified
Shocking personality

New Haiku Poems

Mexican Elders
Growing like a wild fire
Birds hide, take refuge

Calico cat walks
Between the slats of my fence
Happy to see me

White dove on the line
Tail flips in jerky motion
Wet poo lands on grass

Finches, sparrows, doves
Happy hopping near sprinkler
Birds preening their wings

Spring is upon us
Water nourishes the earth
Hollyhocks growing

Oleanders froze
Careful cutting brings them back
New green stems emerge

Gray and white tabby
Prances out my front yard gate
Non-chalant and proud

Willow tree leaning
Forceful wind is the devil
Wood props hold it up

White plate for birdseed
Doves bully sparrows away
Sparrows watch for chance

Curious sparrow
Peeks in from my window sill
Sees me standing there

Telescope reveals
Deep crater on centerline
Half moon is half lit

Gray tabby cat hides
Half looks at me with one eye
Wanders on sidewalk

Fallen bird nest torn
Attaches to grass and weeds
Fine twigs are stuck there

Heat wave is coming
Horizon seeks time of day
Sunsets - pure beauty

Awesome turquoise sky
Bubblegum purple mountain
Color for my soul

Bird Friends

Doves wait, watchful on their high wire
that stretches across the back yard,
from Mexican Elder to China Berry Tree.
Their heads follow me, birdseed
bag in hand, walking toward rocks
against chain-linked fence.
Seeds smell like vitamins and minerals
and a mild scent of orange peel as I pour
them into a blue Tupperware bowl.

The bigger birds are growing bellies.
Do the smaller birds get enough to eat?
White-winged Doves dominate, flap
their wings, kick up dirt, eat their share,
shove little birds to the side, make them fly
away. But the little ones return, flock
to the bowl, frolic, hop, skip, jump,
flutter, from spot to spot.
A happy House Sparrow bounces
like a gorgeous rubber ball, looks
from side to side, picks up a long strand
of grass. The proud sparrow flies away.
I believe my birds do get enough to eat.

Pulling Weeds

Tranquility and a pleasant sun
met me in the front yard,
as I took advantage
of a dry day after the last rain.

My body on all fours
kneeling on yellowed grass,
on an old blue folded towel
to protect my pointed knees.

Gray gloves on both hands,
an almond dish pan nearby.
The weeds didn't like
my new jagged knife,
bought to cut into the soil,
to dig under them.

It gave me time to think,
to listen to the silence,
hear a sigh of relief;
or to listen to the trucks
with rattling trailers
clang banging over potholes;
motorcycles roaring by;
a neighbor closing car doors;
a chorus of birds tweeting
their whistles high and low.

With fixated eyes and nose
to the ground, sprouted
weeds still everywhere,
the sun glided gently --
too dark to see --
and I know the rest
will spread like wildfire
before I return.

Neighborhood Walk #3

I walked to the park again
and to a place down the street –
for exercise, photos,
Vitamin D from the sun,
inspiration, nature –
hoping to see something minuscule,
bugs, dandelions, objects windblown.

To capture new images
with my camera –
textures in tree bark and
bus stop grill work,
ruggedness in rocks,
frailness or strength in twigs,
even tire tracks on the dirt made
by two yellow Caterpillar trucks
sitting by a large hole
that workmen have dug there.

Like my hair blown by the wind,
I saw the resiliency of life
in grass, leaves, wildflowers.
I would think the wind
would rip all of it out by the roots.

Ground cover with yellow flowers
the size of a freckle on my arm,
and purple flowers half the size
of my palm, met the roundness
of my camera lens, and eager clicks
of my finger on the shutter.
I wish I knew their names.

For the first time I saw beauty
in weeds, even those dried up,
droopy and wrinkled, stuck
by the ditch on El Paseo and Farney,
a ditch half full of murky water,
stippled by white and yellow streaks
made by the sun, trickling
between large trees
in neighbor's back yards.

The wind forced water ripples
in the same direction as my path.
On that path, supple plants soaking
what's needed from the water,
green in contrast to whitish dry weeds
next to tall, reddish-stemmed
growth that looked like Amaranth.
White flowers - pollinated
by a zipping hummingbird
moving too fast for me to
stare at its colors or take a picture –
its fluttering wings cutting air.

That alone was worth the trip,
realizing that nature takes care of itself
without worrying about life,
death and all stages in between.